LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN TIGRESS

Up until she reached here, there were curious people who tried to have a look at the Prime Minister"s daughter who is supposed to be ugly and sickly and hidden from the eyes of everyone. They wondered why the heavens willed such person to be the one who brings prosperity. Some even wondered if this was the Huang family"s plot to have more control over the Emperor.

But not caring about all that, Xing entered her room. She lifted her veil and threw it to the ground and walked over it to sit on the bed that was decorated with red with a single white silk kerchief in the middle.

Xing wanted to throw up seeing the obnoxious color red everywhere. There is no colour she hated more than that bright red in her room right now. Crimson - she can handle, purple and blue - she loved and red - she hated to the bones. Especially today she wanted to rip everything off.

Seeing her throwing the veil on the floor, the maids got all fl.u.s.tered and got it back on her head lecturing her that only the Emperor can lift it. They also said that the Emperor haven"t sent any information that he"ll be here tonight but still she has to patiently wait the entire night without removing the veil for him.

The reason Xing chose new maids for her was because they didn"t know about her and Shengli and so there won"t be any unnecessary rumours in the inner palace. If such rumours surface, her entire family would be in danger.

Xing felt like she was. .h.i.t by a hammer on the top of her head when she heard that. She had prepared for every possibilities and arranged for the safety of her family and friends but she entirely forgot about the Emperor.

I didn"t even send a letter to the Emperor explaining why I have to do this!

Xing knew her "t.i.tle" was arranged by the court, so that means her father used the court to bypa.s.s the Emperor"s opinion. He is also a victim in this matter and he is being forced to take in his inner palace the woman he knew as his brother"s. He has the right to know.

Wow! This is going to be so awkward to explain! What would he think of me? An opportunist? A s.l.u.t? Huh! This sucks!

Xing sent away the maids away after much persuasion and swearing that she won"t remove the veil and only sit in the bed like a doll waiting for the arrival of the Emperor.

The moment the maids left, Xing removed the veil, threw the phoenix hairdress to the floor and washed her face. Only then she felt free. Her hairstyle that took hours to put on was messed up by her yanking the headdress out and her makeup free face revealed her true beauty.

Xing patted her face dry and accidentally stepped on the phoenix headdress she had thrown down previously. It lost it"s shape and the jade and other precious stones fixed in it came off. She just kicked it out of her way. She began to hate phoenixes too! She"d have proudly wore phoenix hairpins if her prince would be the one to remove it... Not now...!

Xing saw the double happiness sign hanging, the curtains and even the candles were red. There was a jar of wine there and she just drank it straight from the jar. She didn"t know what she was doing but she knew she didn"t want to be here in this room filled with red...not like this... Not with someone else...

Xing wanted to scream from her lungs when a mocking, cold voice was heard from behind her,

"n.o.ble Consort Huang, Here to Serve zhen? Didn"t know your promise back in the mountain included this!"

Xing felt like cold water was splashed over her and a thousand needles p.r.i.c.ked her heart, what is this guy saying?

Then it dawned on her, she had promised that she"ll serve him as the Emperor. Now her father got her the t.i.tle of "n.o.ble Consort" and she is in his inner palace. He is not wrong to ask this and this is how everyone else will be seeing her.

Xing didn"t know what to say for the first time in her life and stood still and her hands began to shake and she dropped the wine jar on the floor. The jar fell on the carpeted floor with a thud.

"Your Majesty is wrong", Xing said in a shaking voice and turned to look at him. The Emperor didn"t look fine himself and was looking at her with a disdainful and angry expression. He had a dark aura around him.

Xing didn"t care and continued, "This cursed one does not have the right to choose for herself or act according to her wishes and has to end up here. I would beg, for your grace to let me stay here for a while for... for the sake of friends.h.i.+p we used to share", she gave a deep bow and held her position.

"Still won"t kneel?", The Emperor asked with a sneer as if he was surprised at her. Xing saw his shoes right in front of her and the long sleeves of his black dragon robe was wet and a strong smell of blood entered her nose. Is he fisting his hands too tight and his nails are digging into his palms to make it bleed? So he is stressed too?

Xing stood straight, "I was taught by an important person not to kneel, your Majesty. And you must know since you are smart why I have to be here. Your brother disappeared after that glaring sign on the sky and next came my entrance here...", she composed herself and talked in her usual tone. She didn"t feel as stressed as before. The Emperor was pleasantly surprised for a moment to see her face without makeup. She really looks like a beautifully made porcelain doll!

" G.o.ds! ", he murmured after thinking for a while, " Did they threaten brother"s life? ", he asked. He had gained his usual composure and his aura became bright.

"If they had threatened his life, I"d have gladly died with him. But they threatened everyone else"s life. So I had to give in", Xing told a part of the truth.

The Emperor sighed deeply and sat on the bed, " Forgive me for what I said previously. Your father just sprung about this issue of you entering here on me yesterday in the court after making all the other arrangements. I felt helpless and angry and didn"t think properly and showed it on you. I know you are not here happily either. But what do they want you to do? ", he asked and he was obviously embarra.s.sed by his behaviour.

" Not sure", Xing shrugged it off. She doesn"t care either.

"Still, you should have found some other way!", he said softly. This would only lead to more troubles and misunderstandings between the three of them.

Xing didn"t answer him and grabbed his hand to see it was hurt deeply and blood seeping from the wound.

Xing picked up the white cloth on the bed without thinking much and gently wiped the blood off the wound and thew it to the side.

She then cleaned the wound and applied the medicine she always had on her person, something given to her by a G.o.d,that heals wounds much faster than any other human medicine would and neatly bandaged it.

Xing was used to taking care of wounds because Haru always got wounded when they were young and she had learned how to do it properly from a doctor back in her village.

The Emperor watched her treating her and he didn"t know what he should do about this awkward situation.

His brother"s wife is in his inner courtyard with the t.i.tle, "n.o.ble Consort". He knew for sure, his brother will let her go and only hold him accountable for this. He really didn"t want to lose his brother. But what could he do?

Why are the G.o.ds this cruel?